Certain workers involved in repetitive tasks, for example typists and machine operators, complain of fatigue and may suffer injury due to the positioning of parts of their body relative to their work surface. The ergonomic design of workstations is intended to prevent injury, alleviate such fatigue, and thus increase productivity.
It is well known to attach a support to a chair or other seating surface for supporting a control mechanism or for providing leg support, and thus provide for the comfort, of persons who remain seated for an extended period of time. This is generally shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,848,842 to Stringham, 4,063,321 to Nichols; and 2,918,964 to Braun, which disclose seats with attached and dedicated leg or foot supports. No provision is made for supporting, in a selective position, the foot of a standing person, or of a person using a variety of conventional seating structures.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,915,450 to Cooper discloses a special workstation adapted to a specific piece of machinery, such as a computer. Cooper's workstation includes a chair, a device carriage and a footrest assembly coupled to and selectively pivotable about a shaft. While such a workstation enables a worker to selectively vary his position, it requires the worker to be seated and thus would not be suitable for a worker who normally stands. Further, such a solution would require scrapping existing work stations and the purchase of new (and dedicated) workstations, and would thus be quite costly.
Thus, the need exists for an economical adjustable foot rest which can be attached to or associated with a variety of conventional work stations, which is capable of adjustment vertically, horizontally, and angularly, and which can be selectively used by a standing worker or by a seated worker using a variety of conventional chairs, stools or other seating structures.